Beautiful Soul
by Les723
Summary: ROMY. Jott. Set after Apocalypse. Feared by all, Rogue is slowly losing it. Her former friends only make matters worse. Is there anyone who can see her for who she really is? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Alright! This idea just kinda came to me one day when I was watching tv. This all takes place after Apocalypse. Humans still resent mutants, but it's not as bad as it used to be. As long as the mutants aren't harming them, they don't bother the mutants. Mystique is back with the Brotherhood, and Magneto's around. The Acolytes have gone their separate ways, and nobody knows where they areumm yeah, that about sums it up.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own X-men.

Beautiful Soul

Chapter 1: Alone

Dangerous.

That's what they thought she was.

An uncontrollable monster.

Ever since she had lost control, her so called family, the X-men, had been distant. Conversations had stopped mid sentence when she entered the room and eyes full of fear watched her every movement as she passed them in the halls. Even the Professor had begun to show distance. The weekly sessions she had with him soon turned to monthly and then vanished completely. She couldn't bare it.

Then it got worse.

Apocalypse began and a new chain of events began, proving that she was powerful and unstable. Once again she, the Rogue, was feared by all. Sure they called her a hero (she did after all defeat Apocalypse), but those were hallow words. She heard the words they called her, whispering behind her back when they thought she wasn't there. The X-men, her own friends, even the Professor, they were all scared. Scared that she, Rogue, would lose control and attack every one of them. Even Kitty and Kurt no longer wanted to be around her. It was heartbreaking.

The only things that kept her going now were Logan (with his constant support and understanding), gardening with Ororo (the only female who didn't shun her), Beast's latest scientific breakthrough (it was better than sulking in her room), and Danger Room sessions (the only place she could take out her frustrations on the other X-men). Oh yes, the only friends she had now where teachers. As pathetic as it sounded, they were all Rogue had.

Rogue slammed down the latest vampire novel she was reading, the scowl on her face growing worse with each passing moment. The girls were having some kind of get together and their laughter could be heard down the entire wing. Pop music blared, it's happy melody only agitating the growing headache that was beginning to form. Rogue stormed out of her room, ready to murder the occupants of the noisy room, and stopped. It was coming from Jean's room. Jean and Kitty's room. Rogue inched closer, trying to make out what they were saying.

"How horrid Amara!" Came Jean's high pitched squeal, "Alright Kitty, it's your turn. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?"  
There was a pause.

"That's like tough Jean," Kitty finally said, "But I'd like have to like say it was this one time when Rogue like-"

There was a large gasp.

"Rogue! Oh, that's right, you had to share a room with her. Wow, every day must have been a nightmare."

"Yeah," came Kitty's voice, "Yeah, it like was."

Rogue couldn't take anymore. She turned, running down the empty hallway. Who cared about what Kitty said, even if it was a lie? If she wanted to be Miss Perfect's new pet cat, Rogue saw no problem letting her. Holding back the tears forming in her emerald eyes, Rogue headed down to the Med Lab. Hank would give her some aspirin.

The Med Lab had once been Rogue's least favorite place, but now she seemed to find it comforting for some reason. Perhaps it was because she knew that nobody would ever bother her here. Glancing in the mirror t make sure her expression looked neutral and that he eyes weren't red, Rogue stepped into the Med Lab hoping Hank was there.

"Hello?" she whispered into the still air.

She paused for a moment, listening for any sounds of movement, but heard none.

"Hank? " she said a bit louder, but got no reply.

Frowning, Rogue headed to the cabinet where she knew Hank kept the aspirin. It was locked.

"Now wha' am Ah supposed ta do?"

A few minutes passed as Rogue sat in the man's chair, twirling in circles waiting for him to show up. Bored out of her mind and concentrating on spinning, Rogue did not hear the Med Lab doors open.

"Stripes?"

Rogue stopped the chair immediately and glanced up to find Logan.

"What the Hell are you doing?"

Logan had come to the Med Lab to get some kind of Hybrid that Hank had made at the request of Ororo. He was surprised to find Rogue there, twirling around in a chair nonetheless.

"Stripes, what the hell are you doing?" he had yelled at her. She stopped suddenly, startled.

She shrugged, "Waitin' for Hank. Ya?"

"Picking somethin' up. Why do you need to see Hank?"

She pointed at her head, "Headache. An' before ya ask the cabinet's locked."

Another headache? Logan frowned. She had been getting them a lot lately. He took a good look at Rogue. Something wasn't right. She was hiding something.

"It's locked you say? Well, we'll just have to fix that."

Logan extended his claws on his right hand, placing one claw into the lock. He turned his hand a few times, Rogue watching him curiously. There was a click, and the cabinet opened up.

"There," he replied gruffly, "One unlocked cabinet."

"Ah wish Ah could do tha'."  
Logan took out one of the bottles, opening it and handing Rogue two pills. She downed them without any water.

"Thanks."

Logan nodded, "Everything okay?"

He watched Rogue give him a quick smile, "Everythin's fahne. See ya later."

Something wasn't "fine". The little smile had proven it.

Logan sat down in the seat Rogue had previously occupied. He just wished he could help the poor girl. Nothing had gone right for her and all the other kids were too scared to help her. She was being tormented, Logan knew this much. He just couldn't figure out how to help her. He, along with Ororo and Hank, had already tried so many things to help Rogue out of her depression. Yet none of them had worked. She was getting worse too, Logan was sure of it. He had tried to bring it to Xavier's attention, but the man just didn't see it. He assured Logan that if Rogue needed help, he would gladly help her. Too bad Rogue would never go to the Professor now. When he had first come in here, Rogue had seemed out of it, as if her mind was trying to forget something. She had been upset.

Absentmindedly, Logan began to twirl himself in the chair. He just wished there was something, anything, he could do to help.

Rogue rushed as far away from Logan a she could. She knew he had seen through that little act. Why had she smiled? Why hadn't she told him the truth? 'Because there's nothin' anyone can do. He can' make them stop, it's somethin' Ah gotta do alone.'

Alone. Rogue let out a bitter laugh.

She already was alone.

It was her own fault though. She had kept everyone away. Even now she kept Logan, Ororo, and Hank at a distance. She considered herself a danger. Rogue just didn't want to harm the only friends she had left. No, it was better to be alone.

If only she knew it was hurting them all, including herself.

And that's the end of the first chapter! REVIEW! Come on, and let me know what you think! Please!

-Les723


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, I'm BAAAACK! Soooo sorry that I haven't updated in literally forever, but so much has been happening in my life. But now it's summer and things have quieted down, so I will now be able to write a lot. Once again sorry, and enjoy the story!

A BIG thanks to all those who reviewed my first chapter so long ago! Thanx!

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men…drat!

Beautiful Soul

Chapter 2: Gone

"Rogue, hustle!"

"Pick up the pace Rogue!"

A growl escaped from the southerner's mouth as Scott continued to yell at her. What was his fucking problem? She ducked quickly as a large metal object swung her way, and then proceeded to survey the scene before her once again. Training Sequence T-09, a favorite of Scott's, was their practice for the day. It was a maze, walls and all, filled with all kinds of dangerous obstacles, meant to sharpen their use of their powers and agility. Too bad Rogue could only rely on the latter of the two. Scott seemed to forget about this, as did the rest of the team, leaving her to fend for herself. Not that she minded, for Rogue was very capable of taking care of herself. But because she had to actually fight, she had gotten behind the rest of the group. And it seemed that her fearless leader was not too happy about it.

"Move it Rogue!"

"Shut ya trap Summahs! Ah'm commin'!"

Not even bothering to take out one of the robots, she run as fast as she could narrowly missing a spinning blade that come out of nowhere. 'Ah'm gonna end up getting' mahself killed.' By now, Rogue figured she was two-thirds of the way done with the maze, meaning that the most dangerous traps lay ahead.

"Shadow Cat Complete," came the voice of the computer. Rogue scoffed. Of course Kitty was the first to be done, she could go through the all of the fucking maze walls, which she had probably done. Kitty was not one of the best fighters on the team, and usually opted for defense instead of offense during battles.

Kurt, Bobby, and Scott himself were not far behind. That left her, Jean, Colossus, and a few others who had recently been made part of the senior team in the maze.

With her mind elsewhere for the moment, Rogue failed to realize a giant hand coming her way, and found herself a moment later in the machine's tight grip. 'Dammit. Way ta go Rogue. Now wha' are ya gonna do?'

"Jean Gray, Colossus, Jubilee, Amara Complete."

Fuck. Now she was the only one left in the maze.

"Rogue!" came Scott's angry cry.

Why was he getting so angry?

Rogue suddenly remembered the obvious reason, this was a team mission. That meant that the timer kept running until all team members crossed the finish. He didn't care about her; Scott just wanted a good time. 'The Asshole.' She just sat there, in the machine's grip debating whether to actually get out of the hold or to just piss Scott off more. She wasn't given a chance however since Miss Perfect came floating in out of nowhere, releasing Rogue from the grip with her powers.

"Really Rogue," Jean chided, "You should have just called for help. It would have been more efficient."

Rogue glared at the redhead, "Ah was fahne by mahself. Ah was jus' gonna get outta there mahself."

Jean gave her a look of skepticism, lifting Rogue into the air with her powers and moving them both towards the finish. Rogue folded her arms as a form of protest, not happy once they had made it, finding a very angry Scott and some not so happy team members waiting for her.

"Good work Jean," Scott said as soon as the two were on the ground. He turned to Rogue now, "You cost the team 5 minutes. Do you realize what that means in a real situation? Why didn't you ask for help?"

No are you okay or even a what happened. Just harsh words. She felt so loved right then. Not.

Rogue held back her tongue, keeping her not so nice comments to herself. Instead of giving her leader a reply, she chose to head out of the room, headed for her bedroom. 'Could tha' stick beh any further up his ass?'

/Rogue! That's not nice! You shouldn't say such things about your lea-/

'Shove it Gray, an' stay outta mah head!'

----------------------------------------------------------

Rogue was able to relax in her room uninterrupted until dinner came around, which she was forced to attend by Logan, who had personally escorted her down to the table, telling her along the way to just ignore Scott and his lodged stick (to which Rogue couldn't help but laugh). She sat in between Logan and Kurt, Jean across from her. Next to Jean, Scott frowned in her direction, obviously wanting to confront her about today's session. At the end of the table, the Professor must have noticed some tension, for he spoke up.

"Is everything okay my dear X-men?"

Everyone nodded, murmuring a yes.

"No Professor," came Jean's steady voice, "There is one slight problem."

"And what might that be my dear?"

"Rogue and her behavior and attitude, she-"

"I don't think now's the time to-"

"Silence Logan, let Jean speak," Xavier said calmly.

"Thank you. As I was saying Rogue is refusing to be a team member. It's got me worried. What if things start to happen again? You know what happened last time she withdrew from us all."

Xavier opened his mouth to speak, but Rogue cut him off.

"Why ya little bitch! How dare ya say such a thin'!"

Jean looked at Rogue calmly, a small smirk upon her face.

/It's true Rogue, you're a danger to us all./

"I think I'm going to have to agree Professor," Scott piped in, "Rogue has been creating a lot of tension lately. It's making it hard for us to be efficient."

Jean nodded, "Perhaps she needs to be taken off the team for a bit. You know, to make sure she's alright in the head."

Rogue glanced around the table. Though no one else muttered a word, Rogue could see it in most of their eyes. They were afraid of her. At that moment something inside Rogue snapped. She felt enraged. How dare they fear her, speak out against her, she had done nothing wrong! Her eyes turned dark, and before anybody knew what was happening, Rogue launched herself across the table, a now ungloved hand tight on Jean's face. Jean screamed out in pain before dropping to the ground, unconscious. Rogue just stood there for a moment, looking at everyone, before running back up to her room.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Of course the Professor summoned her down to his office. And she received some cold glares from the others she passed in the hallway. She easily returned the gesture.

The Professor was not glad to see her to say the least, and after an hour of being firm and setting down some rules, he sent her back to her room with a harsh punishment. For the next month, she would be training with Scott at 4 a.m., in an attempt to learn respect along with other "needed skills". On top of that Rogue was now in charge on keeping the kitchen clean for the next month.

Life was just not fair.

------------------------------------------------------------

Rogue sat on her bed, not moving a muscle. She was sick of this place!

"It's always mah fault," she muttered out loud, "An' Xavier always lets Miss Perfect and Stick up his ass Summers get away with ev'ry thin'. Ah wish Ah cold jus' get away from it all. Ah mean-"

She stopped midsentence as her words register. What was holding her here? Nothing. It was so simple Rogue wanted to laugh. She was free to leave whenever she wanted. And that time was now.

-------------------------------------------------------------

It was midnight. The mansion was quiet, the inhabitants fast asleep except for Rogue, who had just finished grabbing a select few items and shoving them into her backpack. She didn't have any time to waste. Surely one of the adults would be making rounds soon. With a quick glance around her room, Rogue made her way to the balcony, jumping carefully down into the bush. She paused to take one last glance at the mansion before turning around and heading down the driveway.

"So you're just going to leave like that Stripes? No plans, no transportation, and just a small backpack?"

Shit.

Rogue froze. She had been caught. Turning around slowly, Rogue cautiously looked Logan in the eyes. He stood there, his face emotionless like always, eyes blazing at her, his precious bike next to him.

"Logan-"

"Here Stripes, if you're gonna leave, at least be prepared."

She looked at him puzzled before her eyes widened in surprise, "But Logan, this is ya favorite bahke."

"Logan smirked, "It is, but I've had my eye on a new bike for a while. Now I have the perfect excuse to buy it.

Rogue allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips, "But wha' about Xavier?"

"Don't worry about him kid."

Rouge hesitated, "Alraght Logan."

"Good. Come on, grab your stuff and get going before anybody realizes what you're doing."

Emerging ten minutes later with a duffel bag and two small backpacks, Logan helped her put in on the bike.

"Goodbye Stripes," Logan said, pulling the Goth into a quick hug, "Just promise me you'll come back."

Rogue was surprised at the action, and tears came to her eyes, "Ah will Logan. Ah promise."

"Take care of this baby for me."

"Ah will."

"And keep in touch."

"Ah will."

Rogue mounted the bike, Logan handing her a helmet which she eyed, "Put it on Stripes. You're not invincible or anything."

Placing the helmet on her head, Rogue took once glance at Logan before putting down the visor, "Good bah Logan."

And with that, Rogue sped off, disappearing through the gates and away from Bayville and all she'd ever known. The X-men a thing in her past, something she wouldn't look back upon.

Logan watched her go, a single tear falling down his cheek. It was the first time he had "cried" in over ten years.

"Good bye. Be careful Stripes," he whispered into the air.

Logan turned abruptly around, heading back into the mansion, a scowl upon his face. He was not in the best of moods right now, which only meant one thing. It was time for a 5 a.m. Danger Room session. And today, Logan was not going easy.

Alright! That's chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed it! Lemme know what ya think, REVIEW!

I promise to update as soon as possible!

-Les723


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all who reviewed! I've replied to most of you by now, but I'd like to say thanks to my anonymous reviewers! Cookies for all of you. Hee hee. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own x-men.

Beautiful Soul

Chapter 3: Open Road

Rogue's tears lasted only until she reached the New York State border. By the time she had crossed over into Pennsylvania, whatever anger sadness she felt for leaving her only real home she had ever know vanished, lost as she tore down the highway on her new bike. For once in a long time, she was actually enjoying something. Motorcycling was one of her favorite things to do, and was Logan's bike perfect.

She loved the way that it purred, how well it handle, almost as if it was able to read her thoughts. She wasn't too surprised though, after all, Logan was the one who had taken care of it and given the bike some special adjustments. And to think, it was now hers. She'd never be able to repay Logan back for it.

She saw a sign for a gas station, and exited off the highway, pulling in to the place to refuel. Logan had not left her with a full tank, and she figured now was a good time to stop and grab some other things as well. She fueled the bike up, and then went inside to pay for it, grabbing a few maps, a highlighter, a coffee, and a snack as well. It was now almost 2 am, and Rogue had yet to start feeling tired.

Paying for her things, Rogue proceeded to go back outside and sat down on a bench about six feet from her bike. Taking a sip of coffee, she opened the first map, one of the entire United States. She sat there, starring at the map for a few moments, deciding what her next move would be. Where did she want to go? Rogue had always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona, or maybe she should go have some fun in Las Vegas, or maybe…

Her eyes rested on the southern part of the map. Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama. The South. Someplace she hadn't been in a long time. Memories of her forgotten life played through her mind. The warm gentle air, the lovely scenery, the best food anywhere in the country. That was where she was headed, to a place she once called home. Mississippi. The memory of Cody drifted into her mind, still fresh as though it had happened yesterday. Her eyes darkened as she remembered the horror that had unfolded. No, she couldn't return there. Then where would she…

New Orleans. The name seemed to jump off of the map at her. Rogue smirked. New Orleans would be the perfect place to go. She wanted a little excitement, and she was sure to find plenty there. Quickly finishing up her coffee, Rogue hoped back onto her bike, the caffeine entering her system, giving her an extra boost of energy. She tore off, getting back on the highway, determined to get to New Orleans as soon as possible.

After what seemed like hours, Rogue glanced at her watch; it was 4:01 am. The time she was scheduled for that dumb ass training with Scott. Knowing her "leader", Scott would probably start to flip out in a few more minutes. It would be soon that someone found out she was missing. This only made her laugh as she sped down the highway, the open road in front of her.

---------------------------------------

4:15 am.

To say he was pissed, was an understatement.

Scott Summers was enraged. Rogue was in serious trouble now. He was tired of her attitude, and was determined not to let her get out of this training so easily. Which was why he was pounding on her door two minutes later. He didn't care that he was waking up the rest of the mansion; he just wanted to set things straight with Rogue.

"Rogue! If you don't open up this door now, I'm coming in!"

Silence.

"Alright Rouge, I'm opening the door!"

With one quick turn Scott opened the door and walked inside.

"Rogue?"

Only to see an almost empty room.

"Professor!"

----------------------------------------

By 6 am, Rogue had made her way into West Virginia and was starting to get a bit tired. The coffee was wearing off, and her eyes were becoming heavy. It was when she almost fell off the bike did she decide it would be best to get a little sleep. She found the cheapest hotel around and managed to lug her stuff up a flight of stairs to her room, where she immediately flung the bags on the ground and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep. For once in quite some time, she slept peacefully without any horrible dreams or psyches trying to invade her mind.

------------------------------------------

The mansion was anything but peaceful. Scott's yelling had awoken most of the students and upon the discovery of the missing Rogue; Xavier had called everyone for a meeting.

"Now now. It seems we have a slight problem," he began to tell the still half asleep students; "It seems that Rogue has run off. We do not know how long it has been since she has left, but we do know one thing; she does not seem to want to come back. Most of her belongings are gone, as well as Logan's bike."

The X-men looked over to Logan, expecting to see anger upon his face. To their disappointment, he didn't even look shocked.

"Care to explain Logan?" Xavier asked calmly.

Logan looked the Professor in the eyes, "No, not really."

Then he proceeded to walk out of the room, "You all have a danger room session in fifteen minutes. I expect to see all of you there and ready."

------------------------------------

Alright! That's the end of this chapter! I'm hoping to have a small chapter out in a day or two that describes the danger room session that the X-men are about to receive. It'll be more of a side chapter, just there for the amusement of y'all. I wasn't gonna originally include the DR session, but **onesmartgoalie **brought up the idea and I'm gonna run with it. So look for that in the next few days.

REVIEW!

Til next time,

Les723


End file.
